Not-So-White Autumn Decor

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I mentioned that I cleaned and redecorated my living room Saturday. Even with MMS Milk Paint taunting me with its arrival in the early afternoon, I managed to get it cleaned, decorated and photographed. And today I edited the photos. Tip with editing – if you take a picture of just what you want in the frame you eliminate the cropping step! Saves time that way. Just sayin.

I’ve since added a book page wreath to the shelf with the gold frame. And my dress form got stuck back in after her base was painted. The gold chair to the left has started her transformation – I started pulling staples back in the spring. I have antique hemp to reupholster it with but I keep putting it off. Having lots of other projects is just part of the ‘excuses’. Honestly I’m scared to tear the rest apart ’cause what if I can’t get it redone to look nice??

Here is the picture I picked up at Goodwill last week. I redid the frame with ASCP and dark wax. You can see why my Teenager didn’t think it looked like me can’t you? It’s a lovely picture and I’ll leave it there till I decorate for Christmas {maybe}. It is amazing how hard it is for me to leave it! It just looks so dark in my living room! I’m really tempted to go pull out my old oils and repaint those flowers – WHITE! Notice I tried to add in as many white shades as I could to the rest of the shelf decor!

Side table got a whole new little vignette. And there is that pillow again. I really should do a post about that pillow. It is so fun. The quote is from ‘Pride and Prejudice’, my absolute favorite movie. I got it from a lovely little gal on etsy. Her shop is empty right now and I need to contact her and see if and when she plans to reopen. And then I need to do a blog post featuring her and tell the story of a couple of pillows 🙂

Do you see the reasons I rarely show pics of my whole living room on here?? #1. This is a BIG one. The woodwork has never been put back in this room. It has been five years. Sigh. I have these cool old shutters just languishing in the garage, waiting the day they can grace my windows and give privacy when the evenings get dark early and you can see right into the lighted room. I am BEGGING my hubby to at least get the windows trimmed out before Christmas. I’ve begged him every year but this year I just might go at it myself if need be. Really, how hard can it be? There are all kinds of blogs out there, owned by women, who show us all kinds of woodworking they have done themselves. I may just become one of them. Travis, if you are reading this, consider yourself warned.

#2. My furniture is not what I have envisioned for this room. We gave away our matching set of furniture when the piano joined our family. We bought a $25 couch on Craigslist and I slip covered it with a drop cloth. The little all white chair I slip covered a few years ago and it ended up in the living room. The newest wicker chair was a thrift shop find that is eventually going in a pop-up shop sale. The white slip covered most likely will too. The gold chair I plan to keep once it’s redone but that is always up for change! Honestly, I’m really not sure exactly what I want for furniture. It will come together eventually!

This huge antique basket is one of my very favorite things. I have been a little challenged about just what to do with it. It’s fine for books for now, but that really isn’t what I want its forever job to be. Any suggestions would be welcomed!! I’d love to have a kitchen island built with a shelf at the bottom for this to fit on. But for now I don’t think that’s gonna happen. Remember the woodwork I want installed???

Old Ruler Crowns found a new resting spot on the music stand.

Late Saturday evening I finished up the base of my dress form and put her back in the living room. And snapped a couple of shots trying to capture the ambient glow of the Edison bulb in the pendant light on the piano side of the room. Lots of shadows but it shows the lovely soft warmth.

About Jill Flory

I am the blogger behind this blog, a small business owner, both retail and wholesale. I'm a designer and design consultant, I blog about DIY projects, sewing tips and tutorials I've picked up along the way in the more than 25 years I've been using needle, thread, and machine, home decor, homeschooling, and life.

Comments

So lovely. I can surely commiserate about the unfinished projects and the less than loveliness outside the frame we show in our pictures. I just bet you could do the wood work. Imagine how great it would feel to tackle that. You are so talented and create such beautiful things, how much harder can that project be than the amazing things you create with fabric, thread, paint and such? Start with the part that seems easiest and maybe your hubby will get nervous and get busy!
Liz

Liz you are so kind and sweet! I’m really kind of scared of the table saw – what if he came home from work and found me minus some fingers or something!?! Maybe I should come up with a way to trim the windows with fabric 😉

I wouldn’t have ever noticed the window trim, way too many pretty vignettes and touches to distract me! Tell Travis the latest trend in blogland is to be creative with old pallets and you’re thinking of doing it around the window! (I think it could be fun, but I’m guessing men wouldn’t!) 🙂

Ah, Pam, you are too sweet! Thanks so much my friend! I told my hubby what you said and he laughed! I’m thinking if I could get past my fear of the table saw I could trim out those windows while he’s at work!

I love your living room! It is very cute and could be put in a magazine! I understand about the unfinished windows. In my case its a unfinished basement……electrical outlets in the kitchen… and facet covers in my shower… BUT! what can you do 🙂

oh, Jill – on the opposite side of the wall from the work in the downstairs bathroom – is the living room. the work on the bathroom caused a HUGE crack in the plaster on the living room side. fortunately the crack has already been repaired! there is a GIANT white plaster swath (looks like the left half of a rainbow shape) on the wall in the living room. . . on the green wall. how long do you think it will be until we repaint the living room???

🙂 Breida, at least it is PAINT you need and you can get at it and do it yourself! I’m afraid if I go for it on my own I will have an upset hubby for a LOOOONG time – LOL! He keeps saying – ‘I don’t need someone to do it, I need money to do it’. Which is so silly. for FIVE years it has sat here. and it won’t cost that much to buy the wood. He just doesn’t want to get at it. i think I will go buy paint and repaint the living room and get it all ready for the woodwork. maybe if i prepare it will happen! You know, paint my living room in my spare time! LOL!!!

I don’t know if it is just my lack of attention to detail but I didn’t even notice the woodwork missing in your room. There are so many beautiful things that caught my attention. I even like all the different furniture, instead of a set. It is all beautiful. What a great way of making the best of what you have.
Ruth

What’s so funny, is looking through your living room pictures I keep seeing little things you have blogged about in the past, great thrift deals you have shared and
all that fun stuff. It’s neat to see it all together!

Your confession of the 5-year frameless windows made me feel much better about myself. We’ve owned our house for 2 years and only half the floors are in, and I try to never show the ugly cement floors the builder did. Maybe I’ll just come clean and expose them too! Thanks for sharing.

🙂 Yes, you should just post about it! And you never know – someone in blogland may just offer to help you get those floors finished!! I had a wonderful lady offer to come help me do my woodwork! I’m still considering letting her even though she lives six hours away! I also have a laundry room that’s been sitting with an unfinished floor and walls half drywalled for more than 5 years!!

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